


Can I Have This Dance?

by Nozoroomie



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: F/F, I only listened to one song while writing this, Worth It, i still listen to it, one song for like a week straight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-08-11 12:13:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7891876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nozoroomie/pseuds/Nozoroomie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eli’s frustrated with plenty of things and takes some time to herself in the courtyard. Thankfully, with a little help from Nozomi, it doesn’t last long.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Can I Have This Dance?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Silversheath](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silversheath/gifts).



> HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE AMAZING, HILARIOUS AND 100% THE BEST INTERNET WIFE SILVERSHEATH !!! You’re such a wonderful person and I love talking to you and sharing fics, yelling into the void, crying about our favs and every single chat we have together with the aLLiance. I cherish out friendship a lot and I really hope you have an absolutely amazing day today.
> 
> As you can tell by the title there was only one song I listened to while writing this and I hope its everything you’d like and more! Happy birthday ;;w;;!
> 
> (thank you to everyone who reads, reblogs and comments on this fic ive been waiting to post it for like twelve days. Thank you banditchika and luckfoser on tumblr for looking over it for me as well ;;w;;!)

Eli’s feet stomp towards the outdoors in a frustrated rage. Today really isn’t her day. She storms her way towards the tree, pacing in in front of it and huffing as she does.

The idol research club is well on it’s way to succeeding better than she expected. Not only did they now have Nico amongst their ranks, now Alisa was asking for more footage of their pv’s and lives. Saying she’s irritated is a slight understatement and the blonde puts her face in her hands, taking a deep breath and letting it out quietly. Alisa’s text will have to be ignored for now, all Eli wants is a break from everything. From student council work, from the ridiculous idol research club and their amatuer dance steps, from trying to save the school- everything and anything that require her to do things. All of it can wait for now.

She takes another deep breath, holding it for a bit longer and removing her hands from her face. Eli thinks about the things that make her happy. Her high school experience so far is pretty great. Nozomi is also pretty great, really, the best person Eli could ever ask for to be her best friend. Her lips turn a bit upward and she thinks of more things that make her happy. The smell of freshly made chocolate brownies, waking up on a warm spring day to a pleasant breeze coming in through her bedroom window, changing the bulb in her night light and watching it light up anew as she plugs it into the wall, these are the little thoughts that run through Eli’s head as she brainstorms things that make her happy.

Of course, there’s also dance. Eli stops at that thought, thinking back to her younger days. Her forms, her jumps, her pivots, her foot placements, everything about her time in ballet class goes through her mind. Her smile becomes bitter and she looks down. If only she were able to make her dreams happen back then. Maybe things would have turned out much differently than how they were going now.

She doesn’t think about it as she puts herself into position, lifting her arms upward and standing herself on her tip toes. Balancing in her school shoes isn’t easy, but Eli’s still able to do it, even if she does sway a lot more than she would in ballet slippers. She stays like that for a moment, trying to motivate herself to move, to continue into the next step of the dance, but the reality of her situation hits her harder than it should.

She isn’t a little girl anymore. This isn’t her ballet recital and she certainly wouldn’t be practicing for any competitions any time soon. Her spirit deflates and she sets herself down from her tiptoes and moves closer to the ledge around the tree. She sighs quietly and sits down on it, gazing towards the ground with a concerned frown.

Dancing by herself always brought some sort of happy feeling, but more recently all it did was make her mood worse. She really hated it.  

The sounds of someone approaching catches her attention and she glances to the side, unsurprised to see her vice president approaching her. She sits up straighter, crossing her arms and looking at Nozomi with a small frown. Nozomi responds to it with a tiny smile.

“Not having a good break?” She asks curiously. 

“I guess.” Eli replies in a curt voice. 

She sighs and shakes her head. She shouldn’t be taking her frustrations out on Nozomi. It wouldn’t be right. 

“I’m sorry,” she apologizes. “It hasn’t been a good afternoon.”

“That’s okay,” Nozomi reassures, “bad days happen, right?”

“Right,” Eli agrees, giving Nozomi her best smile, “don’t worry, I’ll be okay soon and then we can get back to work.”

“It’s okay if you want to rest more,” Nozomi starts, “or maybe we could do something to get your mind off the bad thoughts, yeah?”

A hand extends out towards her and Eli blinks, a bit confused. She glances up to Nozomi’s face and watches as the smile grows on her features. Half lidded green eyes smile at her and Eli hates how she can feel the tips of her ears burning brightly from the dazzling glimmer they give off. 

“Can I have this dance, Elichi?” She asks in a playful voice.

The blush around her ears quickly pales and a sinking feeling fills her stomach. She rolls her eyes and looks away from Nozomi. Obviously Nozomi had seen her moment earlier and wanted to play with her a bit.

“Nozomi,” She warns, “now isn’t the time for teasing.”

“Who said I was teasing?” 

Eli glances back to Nozomi, her eyes focusing on the outstretched hand in front of her. Nozomi smiles softly, her eyes encouraging Eli to reach out and take her hand. The temptation to place her hand into Nozomi’s is almost too much but Eli resists, giving the girl an apologetic smile.

“Sorry Nozomi,” Eli begins, “I’ve never danced with a partner before and I don’t think now is a good time to start.”

She knows it probably sounds like a terrible excuse, but part of her hopes it works. She watches as Nozomi’s gaze doesn’t waver as her smile grows more, telling her the opposite. 

“Really Elichi?” She quips, “You don’t think now would be a perfect opportunity to learn?” 

“You mean here, at school in the courtyard, while we’re taking a break from student council work?” Eli scoffs and Nozomi laughs.

“Sounds like a good time to me.” 

There’s a short pause before Nozomi follows up her statement.

“All you’ll have to do is follow my lead.”

Eli’s eyes glance away from her and she sighs. The decision is hard. Stay stubborn and gloomy and refuse the offer, or take part in an activity she enjoys with her favourite person. When she thinks about it like that, the answer is all too obvious. She slides her hand into Nozomi’s, closing her fingers around the other girl’s gently. Nozomi pulls her up with little effort, smiling up at her.

“For the record, I warned you about how I’ve never danced with a partner before. If I step on your feet, I won’t be saying sorry.” Eli lets Nozomi take a hold of her other hand and watches her expression soften.

“That’s fine by me.” She replies with a gentle laugh.

“Now just hold onto me like this.”

Nozomi fixes their hands, placing one of Eli’s on her waist and keeping the other held into her own. Eli’s tense and clearly feeling nervous. The older girl wants to laugh again, but knows it might discourage her partner. She places her own hand on Eli’s shoulder and gazes up at her serious expression.

“How are we supposed to do this without music?” Eli mumbles. 

“You do it all the time, don’t you?” Nozomi mutters back. 

Eli has no rebuttal and Nozomi hides her smug smirk with a chuckle.

“Do you remember that time we went for parfaits last week, and that one song we both really like came on?” she asks and Eli sputters a bit.

“The love song?!” she asks incredulously, “You want us to dance to the love song?!”

“Oh? Not the love song?” Nozomi grins, squeezing Eli’s hand, “How about that really popular american song then? The one that spells Y, M-”

“T-the love song is fine!” Eli cuts Nozomi off, not wanting to even hear the rest of her other suggestion.

“Perfect~” she hums, “Think of that tune. I’ll sing along and all you’ll have to do is follow me.”

Eli doesn’t say anything and focuses on the memory of the song as Nozomi begins, pulling her close and taking a step backward so Eli can step forward. It’s a clumsy step, Eli almost fumbles, but the dancer in her helps her feet balance and she keeps a firm grip on Nozomi as she follows her movements. Nozomi giggles softly and Eli ignores it as she peers down to Nozomi’s feet, watching them as they step and doing her best to keep up with them.

“Elichi, look at me.” Nozomi instructs softly.

Eli does with a tiny frown and Nozomi’s lip quirks as she holds back a small laugh.

“Keep your eyes on mine. Don’t look down, just follow me.”

She blushes a faint hue of pink but listens to Nozomi, looking directly into her vivid green eyes as she begins to sing. She holds onto that gaze, forgetting about the placement of their feet as she steps in time with Nozomi. She thinks about that mischievous twinkle that sparkles at her as well as the song being sung softly as she leads them along their dance. Eli’s lips turn up in a small smile. It’s hard to feel down when Nozomi’s always there to bring her spirits up.

Eli’s fully absorbed in the movements of Nozomi turning them through the courtyard as they waltz. Her steps have gotten better, continuing to follow the song Nozomi sings and keeping up with her paces almost perfectly. A satisfied feeling mixed with a hint of pride washes over her. She did have a reputation for “fastest learner” back in her days at ballet school. Getting more confidence, Eli increases the speed, slowly taking the lead from Nozomi and bringing their waltz from around the courtyard into the practically empty school hallways.

Nozomi laughs through the song and Eli smiles more. It’s a curious thought for Nozomi to ask her to dance. Eli wonders if Nozomi witnessed all the other times where she spent some breaks in the student council room, practicing her post dance poses from way back when or the occasional leap she would recite with ease. She smiles a bit more, knowing that’s probably the only reason Nozomi asked her to dance. Nozomi knew it made her happy, even if there were painful memories related to it. Somehow, Nozomi always knew. It was something Eli appreciated more than the other girl might ever know.

Eli decides -halfway through their waltz- maybe now is a perfect time to relay her thanks. Eli never was the best with words, but through dance, maybe she could convey how grateful she is for Nozomi. She begins to sing along with her before leading the other girl around the corner, passing by a few curious students and pulling one of her hands away from her. With a gentle turn of her wrist, she leads Nozomi into a small spin, bringing her back afterwards and holding her a tad closer than she had before. Nozomi looks baffled for a split second before that charming, dimpled grin spreads across her features.

It makes Eli’s heart beat just a bit faster. If she weren’t paying enough attention, she may have lost her breath. She’s quite certain of it. 

Their feet step in sync and with a few more turns, the two are fully immersed in each other. The scenery becomes nothing but a blur as the two become lost in their movements. What was the slow, unsure start of the waltz is now a fast paced ballroom dance that may seem semi professional to any onlookers. It’s like twisting the key on a music box and watching it come to life- a couple twangs at the beginning before the keys spring to life and play the tune perfectly.

Eli’s hand hugs around Nozomi’s waist and Nozomi’s arm holds gently around Eli, their gazes on each other as they spin. They sing and dance around the halls with Nozomi taking Eli by surprise by dipping her carefully or spinning away from her to give them a change of pace. Eli never stayed dipped for long and whenever Nozomi spun too far, Eli always made sure to pull her back in.

They find themselves back outside, this time closer to the alpaca pen. Their steps become wider with more open space and their hearts beat faster as they continue. Their voices are harmonized perfectly and Nozomi hops onto a ledge, pulling Eli up with her and spinning on spot before facing Eli. Eli spins only once before hopping down, feeling brave and putting her hands on Nozomi’s waist. Nozomi pauses her singing as Eli lifts her off the ledge, twirling once and setting her down on the ground before lining their hands together again. Eli’s voice is the only one continuing the song as Nozomi laughs, following Eli closely so she doesn’t stumble.

Soon the two of them have returned to the courtyard as their song reaches its final verse. Nozomi extends herself away from Eli, twirling her once. When she’s steady, Eli spins Nozomi back to her, with the shorter girls back pressed against her front. Nozomi turns towards her and Eli’s face rests nicely next to hers, whispering one of the final lines of the song into Nozomi’s ear. She smiles, closing her eyes and dancing her and Eli closer to the tree. Eli’s pulled along, watching as Nozomi sits down. To make the dance last just a bit longer, Eli lifts Nozomi’s hand and turns her slowly on the spot.

Once Nozomi’s facing her again Eli sits herself down and the both of them sing the last line of the song together, keeping the gentle hold on each others hands. Without thinking they lean their heads together and touch their foreheads softly. Their smiles mirror each others and Nozomi’s hands move away from Eli’s, gliding up toward her face. Her hands trace down the strands of loose hair around her neck and Eli can feel the way her nails graze gently against her skin. Eli’s arms fall to Nozomi’s hips, tickling her sides enough for the other girl to make her shiver. They giggle quietly and Eli mumbles only loud enough for them to hear.

“Thank you.”

“Any time, Elichi.” Nozomi whispers in reply.

They sit there for a few moments longer before Eli decides it’s time to return to their work. Her bad mood is long gone and now it was time to finish up at school and head home for the night. She stands up, brushing her skirt off before holding her hand out for Nozomi. Nozomi takes it, pulling herself up off the ledge. She giggles when Eli playfully spins her on the spot before lacing their fingers together and pulling her back into the school. They walk side by side, hands swinging lightly at their sides as they make their way back to the student council room together. 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading, kudos and comments! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SILVER!


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